Sony adds TV to video Walkman players

Sony is adding mobile digital TV to the video Walkman it sells in Japan.

The new Walkman will be launched on Nov. 17 and will be compatible with Japan's "OneSeg" digital TV system for mobile and portable devices. The system is only used in Japan so the TV function won't work overseas. Sony did not announce similar products for other markets.

OneSeg has proved a popular addition to many portable electronics products in Japan and can now be found on many high-end cell phones, laptop PCs, car navigation systems and even electronic dictionaries. It's an MPEG4 stream of the major terrestrial TV networks and is offered at no charge.

The only difference between the three new Walkman devices is their memory capacity. The NW-A916 has 4G bytes of memory, the NW-A918 has 8G bytes and the NW-A919 16G bytes.

The screen size has been increased to 2.4-inches from the 2-inch screen used on the first-generation video Walkman players that went on sale in April.

In addition to displaying live TV, they can also record programs. About 100 hours of TV can be stored on the 16G-byte model, as long as the memory is empty of other content. Users can also call up an electronic program guide or subtitles to TV shows.

Sony says a fully charged battery provides enough power for up to 6 hours of TV watching and 36 hours of audio playback. Other features include the ability to directly connect a Compact Disc or MiniDisc player and record content into the Walkman's memory.

Sound recording and broadcast digital TV isn't available on Apple's iPod. The iPod is Sony's chief competitor in the digital audio market and Sony has been trailing the popular music player on features ever since it was first introduced. In the case of video, when Sony introduced the feature earlier this year it was 18 months behind the iPod.

The new Walkman remains compact. It measures 47 millimeters by 86mm by 12mm and weighs 74 grams.

The NW-A916 will cost about ÂYEN 30,000 ($US260), the NW-A918 ÂYEN 35,000 and the NW-A919 ÂYEN 45,000.

The screen was particularly good. It is bright and visible from most angles, however heat is an issue, particularly around the Windows button on the front, and on the back where the battery housing is located.

My first impression after unboxing the Q702 is that it is a nice looking unit. Styling is somewhat minimalist but very effective. The tablet part, once detached, has a nice weight, and no buttons or switches are located in awkward or intrusive positions.

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